Dear The Underland Chronicles Fanfiction Writers...

Letter 8

Author's Note: Alright, this one is going to be different. I'm not fully sure if this is allowed, according to the rules of FanFiction, but this fandom is relatively small enough that I don't think anyone will really care. Plus, this really needs to be said.

Dear The Underland Chronicles Fanfiction Writers,

Hello all. You know me as TUCfan. I'm the one currently working on the Ares is Alive timeline, and reviving and finishing the Reading the Underland Chronicles series, by AllyJackson. This is my letter to you.

I seriously love the Underland Chronicles. It's my favorite book series ever, which is really saying something, because I've read a TON of books. Suzanne Collins did an incredible job making them, and it really shows in the stories that have to come. But I've officially been on FanFiction for nearly five years now, which means I've read so, so, so many of these fics. In doing so, I've noticed a lot of tropes that are popular in the fandom, which are as follows:

1) Grace is against Gregor returning to the Underland. This one is actually not bad if written well.

2) When Gregor and Luxa get back together, Howard fights them on it. This one actually does not make sense, but I've already addressed why in this fic. Of all the stories I've read on this site, only one, Gregor the Overlander Returns, properly wrote what would happen if Gregor came back, regarding everyone's favorite doctor. I'm trying to do him justice in my series as well.

3) It has been anywhere between three and ten years. The only exception to this are stories where it has only been a few weeks or months.

4) There is always a replacement Flier for Ares that Gregor bonds to, and it is almost always a family member of Ares's. The most typical I've seen is son, I've seen a couple where it was his brother, and even one where it was his sister.

5) If the villain is not the Cutters, it is either a new species and/or a dissenter from the peace agreement between the Gnawers and humans.

6) Gregor's family moves to Virginia.

7) Luxa is either overjoyed or angered by Gregor's return.

8) There are two Overlander friends who replace Larry and Angelina. The male is Gregor's best friend (usually self-proclaimed, though he doesn't know about the Underland) and the female has a crush on Gregor. Usually, the two best friends end up together by the end of the story.

9) A main character (or several [lookin' at you, The Warrior and the Guardian]) dies or is dead already.

10) There's a special prophecy that no one has ever discovered until now.

11) The council is secretly evil or selfish.

12) In Gregor's new school in Virginia, there is some sort of bully character. Gregor gets into a fight with him, and it frightens the female friend who has a crush on him. Bonus points if he sees the picture of Gregor and Luxa in the museum and calls her ugly or a bad word.

13) There are spelling mistakes galore.

14) Gregor tries out the bloodballs again, despite them freaking him out in the books.

15) Nerissa makes a new prophecy or has visions of what is to come.

16) Gregor's last name is Campbell. Someone once did Bellator (Latin for Warrior) and I liked it at the time, but like, dang, that's kinda on the nose.

17) Mrs. Cormaci is either dead or wants Gregor to return to the Underland. This also frequently happens with his grandma.

18) Gregor's dad is named Steve. I actually kept this in the Reading the Underland Chronicles series, but more out of respect for AllyJackson than my actual agreeing with it.

19) Gregor and Ripred duel. Either Gregor wins, or Ripred wins the first match and Gregor wins the rematch.

20) Gregor has mastered his rager senses and kept up with echolocation.

21) Gregor moves to the Underland when he turns 18 and either becomes the head guard for Luxa or a special fighter for Regalia. I am guilty of this.

22) Gregor kept his photo of him and Luxa in the musuem in his wallet and looks at it regularly.

23) Gregor's dad does absolutely nothing when Gregor totally disrespects his mom (because he's an angsty little boy who can't handle his emotions, apparently).

24) There is an OC who is arguably as important as Gregor or outright replaces him. Oftentimes, this OC is literally just the author writing themself into the story. This OC is also absolutely cracked at everything he/she tries his/her hand at. It's a bit ridiculous.

And finally, 25) Gregor is cut off from the Underland and all his friends, and has not seen them for at least a year, and is thrown right into the middle of conflict with no preparation.

Now not all of these tropes are bad. Some of them are really good, especially if they're written well. But they are VERY prominent in this fandom. Perhaps with it written down for everyone to read, they'll know what to avoid or maybe include, but write better.

Another thing that I've noticed is an astonishing lack of Alternate Universe stories. I can probably name three off the top of my head: Regalia High, by Tytonic, which is your typical (but well-done) high school AU, Ghosts Amongst Us All, by okinawanaryelee, an AU about Gregor seeing ghosts of the Underlanders before he comes, and Meeting Early, by 1-Artemis-Hunter-1, an AU where Gregor comes to the Underland much younger than he does in GtO.

I realize that the Underland Chronicles fandom is miniscule, but come on, we have nearly 800 fics. How is it that less than 1% of them are AU's?

Some AU's I think would work for the Underland Chronicles (that anyone can and totally should try writing): A spy/secret organization AU, a dystopian society AU, a coffee shop AU, another high school AU/a college AU, a royalty/kingdom AU, and maybe even something like a pirate or space AU.

If you read this and are inspired to write better, good! That's what my goal was. If you read this and immediately get mad because I may or may not have somehow called you out... well... not much I can do about that.

In any case, this is my letter to you. I wish you all well, good luck in writing your stories, and happy reading!

~TUCfan.